Air conditioning unit



May 24, 1938. J. ROLAND 2,118,328

' AIR CONDITIONING UNIT l Filed April 16, 195s s sheets-sheet 1 ATroRNEY.

lVlayV 24, 1938. 1 ROLAND I 118,328

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed April 16, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIE o INV ENTOR. fo/mf 70m/va I4 AIToRNEYs.

May 24, 1938- J. ROLANDv AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed April 1e, 193e s sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR. fo/7W A700/'wa ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 24, 1938 i PATENT OFFICE Am CONDITIONING UNIT John Roland, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Schwitzer-Cummins Company,

Ind., a corporation Indianapolis,

Application April 1s, 1936, serial No. 74,648

2 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to an air conditioning unit and particularly with reference to forced draft for heating, Ventilating and cooling purposes.

The principal object of the invention isto pro- "vide an air conditioning unit which is applicable furnace and furnace pipes through the winter months, such as will rapidly withdraw the cold air from overhead rooms and more rapidly force the hot air from the furnace thereto, as is well understood in the art.

Through convenient manipulation of the unit, it may be employed -to maintain air circulation during the hot summer months by drawing the cooler air from the ground and basement, filtering it and forcing it through the furnace, furnace pipes and registers into the overhead rooms, at the same time forcing the hot air of the rooms out through the open windows and doors. This is accomplished by providing the unit casing with suitable openings and closures adapted to be shifted between operative connections 'withthe cold air ducts leading from the rooms for heating purposes, or with the open basement for cooling purposes. y I

In either use, particularly for cooling purposes, cold water sprays may be provided in the unit for cleansing the air, cooling it or controlling the humidity.

Another feature of the invention is to provide a unit which is universal in character such that it may be employed for different air conditioning purposes. Thus, the unit may be set up as a. ventilator in the upper story of a house orbuilding for forcing hot air therefrom, resulting in drawing cooler air into the lower part of the house or building. In this use, a home may be made more comfortable in the heat of the summer months, as will be Well understood in the art.

Another feature of the invention resides in the frame support for a rotary blower, blower casing and driving motor therefor.

Therefore, the invention resides in the construction of the unit which makes it readily adaptable to the above and other uses without material variation in structure or mounting.

The full nature of the invention will be un-. derstood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

with a hot air furnace and cold air duct indicated in dotted lines, the unit being arranged for summer ventilation, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the unit and housing therefor being changed from y summer into winter ventilation. Fig. 3 is the 5 same as Fig. ,2 showing the housing changed for i forced draft of the furnace in'winter use. Fig. 4 isa perspective View of the blower unit removed from the housing adapted for top oor ventin lating installation. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of 10 the blower shaft bearing.

In the drawings, there is shown in dotted lines alhot air furnace I0 of the usual type for receiving cold air through the cold air duct II and cold air header I2, and discharging it through the 15 usual hot air pipes I3.

f Intermediate the cold air duct header I2 and the furnace I0, there is an `air conditioning unit comprising a casing I4. The top of said casing is in communication with the heade I2 which is 20 mounted and supported thereon. The forward end of the casing is in direct communication with the hot air drum of the furnace I0. Mounted in the casing there is a blower wheel I5 supported by end spiders I6 on a shaft I1, which 25 shaft is supported adjacent its ends by bearings I8. Said bearings are provided with a base I9 supported on the upperbars of rectangular frames 20. A driving pulley 2| is keyed to one end of the shaft I1 and is driven by a-belt 22 from 3g a motor pulley 23. Intermediate the frames 20 and rigidly connected thereto there is a blower casing 24 into which air is drawn through the apertured sides by the blower I5 and forced about the periphery thereof through the lower end 35 opening into the hot air drum of the furnace I0.

Rigidly secured tov the opposite brackets 20, below and to the rear of the housing 24 but 1 spaced above the lower level of the frames, there is a rearwardly extending platform 25 upon which 40 a driving motor 26 is mounted by resilient mounting cushions 21. Thus, the motor mounting is suspended above the floor and is secured to the blower unit as an integral part thereof. The platform 25 has a slight springiness which is very 45 material to the noiseless operation of the unit. Thus, upon the motor starting and pulling the blower through the belt, the starting torque will cause slight flexing of the platform, which in turn permits of sufficient belt slippage to eliminate sudden driving action. The speed of rotation of the blower is gradually increased instead of being jerked suddenly. to a high speed. The effect of this arrangement is such that the usual icker of lights in the electric circuit with the motor is eliminated, and particularly the noise due to the sudden force of air impacting against the furnace walls.

The rear side of the casing lli away from the furnace is provided with an opening indicated at 28 adapted to be closed by the door .29. Said door is supported at each end by arms 3d having their lower ends pivotally connected with a frame 3i which extends angularlyalong the sides of the casing and supports air filter plates 32. The door is provided with a handle 33 by which it may be moved to the position as shown in Fig. 3 from the position shown vin Fig. l, or vice versa,-its movement from one position to the other being of aswinglng character, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

When. the door is in the position of Fig. 3, the unit is then operative for drawing cold air through the cold air ducts ii and header i2 through the lter 32 and forcing it into the hot air drum of the furnace i@ where it is heated and passes therefrom through the hot air pipes i3. This creates a circulation of hot air for winter use when the furnace is in operation and has the effect of not only maintaining circulation, but ltering and cleansing the air and increasing the heating eiiiciency of the furnace. When the door 2Q ismoved-to the position shown in Fig. 1, it operates to cut oi vthe cold air ducts and draws the air through the filterplates 32 directly from the basement in which it is positioned, forcing the air through the furnace, through the air ducts i3 into the rooms of -the house. However, this arrangement and use is adapted for summer months wherein the air of the basement is supplied through windows and is relatively cool as compared with the air in the rooms of the house. The function in this connection, as is aiiasaa unit, including the blower housing 26 and motor 2t, may be set up in the top oor of the dwelling with the discharge end of the blower housing open to the outside through a window or any suitable opening. It may thus be employed to force the accumulation of dead, hot air from beneath the roof and draw fresh air through the windows of the lower part of the dwelling, which will prevent stagnation, reduce the transmission of heat from the upper story and maintain more comfortable circulation. Operation of such a. unit during the night is highly advantageous in cooling the dwelling.

The invention claimed is: i

l. In combination fwith a hot air furnace and a cold air duct, an air conditioning unit interposed therebetween including a blower fan, means for driving said blower fan, a substantially airtight casing therefor, an opening in said 'casing communicating with said duct and an exteriorly positioned opening, an air filter plate mounted in said casing between said openings and fan, a frame for supporting said plate, a door movable into position to close either one or the other of said openings, and a pair of arms extending inwardly from the opposite edges of said door and having their opposite ends p ivotally supported upon said filter frame for pivotally supporting said door in position to be swung from closing position of one of said openings to closing position of the other opening.

2. In combination with a hot air furnace and a cold air duct, an air conditioning unit interposed therebetween including a blower fan, means for ldriving said blower fan, a substantially air-tight casing enclosing said fan and motor, said casing having an opening provided in the top thereof communicating with said air well understood, is to not only forcethe cooler rduct, and an adjacent opening in the side thereof air of the basement 'into the rooms of the house through the usual air pipes or registers, 'but to maintain a circulation of air and prevent accumulation of dead, hot air.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the mounting of the door, 29 and the positioning of the lte'r plates-32 is such' that the unit may be readily changed from a heating unit'to a cooling unit.

By removing the casing M, the entire blower communicating with the atmosphere exteriorly of said duct, an angularly disposed air filter plate mounted in said casing between said openings and said fan, a door closure adapted to close one or the other of said openings and an arm ex-. tending inwardly from opposite sides -of said door for pivptallysupporting it in position to be swung from one closing position to the other.

Jorn: ROLAND. 

